If there was ever a "technology" I was afraid of, it has been the car. For many years, I would get highly anxious whenever I was sitting on the passenger seat in a car, and the driver herself left me in the car with the engine running, while she went for a quick errand. I was convinced that if I as much as looked at the steering wheel while left alone with it, the car would run away with me and crash. It took me several months of driving lessons to get rid of the nervous beating of my heart whenever I took my place in the driver's seat, and even longer to believe that I actually had control with the car, not the opposite. I've been thinking that this is perhaps the way, some other women still feel about computers (at least I've met a few): that it is an "uncontrollable technology" with a mind of its own. This kind of fear is completely irrational, and much stronger for that reason, but you can't really help it, until someone teaches you to take "control" of the technology and to understand how it works. A valuable lesson - to suddenly much better understand people with tech fobias.

But now I've overcome mine (mostly) and today I passed my driving test - in the first go! Am I a happy camper!!! (and no, I wont tell you how many driving lesson's it took to get there, but the lessons = age equation is not completely wrong ;)).
# posted by Lisbeth at: 12:13